Functions of Danggui Buxue Tang, a Chinese Herbal Decoction Containing Astragali Radix and Angelicae Sinensis Radix, in Uterus and Liver are Both Estrogen Receptor-Dependent and -Independent.

Oliver Zierau,Tina T X Dong,Karl W K Tsim,Günter Vollmer,Anja Papke,Ken Y Z Zheng

doi:10.1155/2014/438531

Abstract

Danggui Buxue Tang (DBT), a herbal decoction containing Astragali Radix (AR) and Angelicae Sinensis Radix (ASR), has been used in treating menopausal irregularity in women for more than 800 years in China. Pharmacological results showed that DBT exhibited significant estrogenic properties in vitro, which therefore suggested that DBT could activate the nuclear estrogen receptors. Here, we assessed the estrogenic properties of DBT in an ovariectomized in vivo rat model: DBT was applied to the ovariectomized rats for 3 days. The application of DBT did not alter the weight of uterus and liver, as well as the transcript expression of the proliferation markers including the estrogen receptors α and β. However, DBT stimulated the transcript expression of the estrogen responsive genes. In addition, the inductive role of DBT on the expression of members of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor family in uterus and liver of ovariectomized rats was confirmed. These responses of DBT however were clearly distinct from the response pattern detectable here for 17β-estradiol. Therefore, DBT exhibited weak, but significant, estrogenic properties in vivo; however, some of its activities were independent of the estrogen receptor. Thus, DBT could be an exciting Chinese herbal decoction for an alternative treatment of hormone replacement therapy for women in menopause without subsequent estrogenic side effects.

Highlights

Traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) have been used as medicines or health food supplements in China for over thousand years
Three-year-old Astragali Radix (AR) deriving from the roots of A. membranaceus var. mongholicus was collected from Shanxi province [10], and 2-year-old Angelicae Sinensis Radix (ASR) of A. sinensis was from Minxian in Gansu province [11]
It is well known that proliferation of endometrial cells is under the control of estrogens and that the risk of endometrial carcinoma increases with estrogen replacement therapy [15]

Summary

Introduction

Traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) have been used as medicines or health food supplements in China for over thousand years. Women in menopause suffer from hot flushes, sweating, anxiety, and mood swings, as well as from an increased risk for many health problems, such as loss of bone density mass (osteoporosis) and cardiovascular disease. These problems are largely due to the deficiency of ovarian hormones, especially estrogens [1]. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine years, but this treatment was associated with side effects, that is, an increased risk of breast cancer, heart attacks, and strokes [2] In view of these clinical risks, extensive efforts have been devoted to searching or developing new drugs that would yield the benefits of hormone therapy but with minimal risk [3]. We performed a three-day uterotrophic assay for revealing responses relevant to contribute to the elucidation of the molecular mechanisms of action of DBT, including organ weights and regulation of gene expression

Materials and Methods

Results

Discussion